He went to class the next day, keeping his head down and trying not to make eye contact with too many of his fellow students. Because they knew, and he knew they knew.Who didn’t know? The whole episode was on television for two hours. Rasheed Sulaimon sitting, and Duke winning by so many points there wasn’t a whole lot more to talk about than Rasheed Sulaimon sitting.

In the NBA, they call it DNP-CD: Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision. If being singled out for such a designation seems cruel, college is worse. They just exclude your name from the box score. You don’t play, you don’t exist. Except if you’re a former McDonald’s All-American and ACC all-freshman choice, in which case they talk on television for two hours about why you’ve disappeared.

He could have picked a better night to vanish. The audience for Duke’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge game against Michigan was certainly larger than when they played Gardner-Webb. The point might not have been made in such a game, though, coach Mike Krzyzewski forcibly demonstrating: We can do this with you or without you; we’d rather do it with you.

“It was very hard,” Sulaimon told Sporting News. “At that time of year last season, we played Ohio State and I was playing. A year later we’re playing Michigan, a big-time game in the ACC challenge, and I didn’t play a minute. It was kind of hard for me to take, but I knew I had to get out of it.

"He made the right call sitting me out of the game.

“I could have come up with a million excuses of why I didn’t play … blamed somebody. The reality of the situation is I put myself in that situation. I had to get back to playing like myself, really. I felt embarrassed, like I let my teammates down, even though we won. I knew I never wanted to feel like that again.”

The tricky part of all that is playing like himself is kind of what got Sulaimon, a 6-4 sophomore shooting guard from Houston, into trouble in the first place. In his freshman season, his 11.6 scoring average did not come close to leading the Blue Devils. But he served as a reliable option if a play broke down and the Blue Devils had to manufacture something late in the shot-clock.

He functions best playing with the ball in his hands. He is not a J.J. Redick who’d run all through the offense, ducking behind screens until losing his man and firing a deadly 3-pointer off the catch. Sulaimon would take the ball, bounce it a few times, make a move that destabilized his defender and then fire.

The difference this year: Duke added two players who did the same things, only better, and freshman Jabari Parker and transfer Rodney Hood did it at the forward positions, where defenders were even less adept at staying on balance against an attacking ballhandler.

“I think I came into this year thinking things were going to be similar to how they were last year. The reality is we have different personnel, different schemes, different strategies,” Sulaimon said. "It took me a long time just to get used to how things were going to be different, and the different style of play this year.”

“I don’t think he pouted or got down,” Gaston told Sporting News this month. “I think any player’s confidence would be shaken when he goes from being ‘the man.’ Sheed was a projected first-round pick himself. Of course you’re going to be affected.

“He’s not that type of kid to run away from a situation. He’s not a transfer kid; he’s a kid that’s going to find a way to work it out.”

Gaston said he tried not to bother Sulaimon much at the time of his benching, aside from sending him an inspirational text here or there. But there was one thing that seemed necessary to underscore: The transition Sulaimon faced now was inevitably going to come when he arrived in the NBA. As talented as he is, he is not an obvious pro superstar. He’s going to have to find a way to be effective complementing a LeBron James or Kyrie Irving or Kevin Durant.

“That’s what I tell all the kids: You’re going to have to get used to coming off the bench or playing a spot-up role,” Gaston said. “In a way it’s good for him. I still think he’ll be a solid first-round pick … when he decides to come out.”

Sulaimon said he never gave any thought to transferring out of Duke even though the conversation raged through Twitter and message boards and talk radio and the like. Because that’s what often happens when a prominent talent encounters a challenge. Transferring is so easy, knowing there’s even a chance you won’t have to sit a year.

He didn’t want to hear it, so he retreated from social media: “shut it down,” in his words. He went to practice, worked to listen to instructions, stayed afterward to get up shots — perhaps as much to show his dedication as to polish his touch.

“I knew there was probably a lot of things being written about me, and I just tried not to pay attention to it,” Sulaimon said. “I think one of the reasons I got into that situation was listening to too many outside sources, whether it was a friend, somebody on Twitter, or an article. I shut out everything else and just solely focused on my coaches and teammates.”

His recovery was not immediate. In the first game following the Michigan disappearance, he played just five minutes against Gardner-Webb and did not score. When the Blue Devils traveled to Madison Square Garden to face UCLA, though, Sulaimon struck three times from 3-point range, and his teammates’ encouragement was obvious.

When he at last broke out with a 21-point game Monday against Virginia, one of his four 3-pointers led forward Josh Hairston to give him one of those celebratory shoves that have become common. “I almost fell over,” Sulaimon said with a chuckle. It was an important moment for him, though. The Duke players never turned against him.

“I think if I was in any other circumstance, with guys that aren’t as good as my teammates, it might have been a different situation,” Sulaimon said. “They knew I’ve been struggling, going through a hard time. It feels great to know that I have a group of guys that have my back at all times.

“They told me I was going to get out of it — not, ‘They hope.’ But they were behind me.”

Coming off two losses in their first three ACC games, facing a rugged Virginia team at home on ESPN’s Big Monday, the Blue Devils were in a sort of must-win circumstance and dominated the game in stretches. But Virginia rallied to take the lead with 38 seconds left. With :22 on the clock, Sulaimon found himself open in the left corner and had the confidence to fire; the ball bounced high off the rim, but dropped through. It stood as the-game winner.

Sulaimon acknowledged it was a huge moment, but, “It’s not like the end-all. It’s not like I’m back or anything like that. I know there’s still a lot of work to be done, and I need to get better. But I felt great.”

The shot came while Sulaimon was on the court with Parker, Hood and other Duke starters. He’d worked his way back to having that confidence, though, while playing against Virginia with a sort of second unit Krzyzewski devised that included center Marshall Plumlee and point guard Tyler Thornton. In that alignment, Sulaimon’s role was closer to his comfort level.

Sulaimon embraced that circumstance, but he naturally wants to chance to be a starter and an integral part of the team. Getting there requires fully integrating himself with its most important members.

“We have two outstanding talents, and they demand the ball — whatever team they’re on, they’re going to demand the ball because their talent is so superior,” Sulaimon said. “It was a learning experience to utilize my talents to go along with those two guys. I think that’s why I took me a little longer to get to that point. I’m learning, still learning, but I think I’m getting better at it.

“If I’m on the court with them, the third- or fourth-best defender is going to be on me. So I have the chance to really take the pressure off Jabari and Rodney. Once we get on the same page, get the chemistry where we can play with each other and play with our teammates as well, I think we can really become a special team.”